Giuseppe Maggiolo Novella

Born in 1977, Giuseppe Maggiolo Novella is an Italian pianist, composer, producer and teacher. His musical and theatrical projects come together under the name GMN Racconto di Suoni—“Tale of Sounds”. His solo recitals combine musical performance with narration and video. Following the example of Sviatoslav Richter, he performs with the score as an expression of humility and respect for the music.

His repertoire embraces many styles, from Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt to transcriptions of Wagner’s operas, music by Queen, Piazzolla, Morricone, Keith Jarrett and Ryuichi Sakamoto. He writes original music, film scores and music for theatre. His piano transcriptions include more than fifty Morricone pieces, as well as soundtracks by Rota, Williams and Horner. Other arrangements draw on Bach’s choral, orchestral, violin and cello music and works by Tárrega, Mascagni, Rossini and Donizetti. He has also made note-for-note transcriptions of performances by Jarrett, Monk and Gulda, and a concert version of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

He teaches piano, keyboards and synthesiser using a personal approach that connects reading and playing with the relationship between music and the mind. An author of musical writings, he devised Musica X Tutti, a project encouraging interaction with audiences. At Studio 98 labs he leads piano courses and workshops in music history, applied theory, composition and improvisation.

His recordings include Movies Memories, devoted to film music; the book and CD Piazzolla Anima Tango; Forbidden Colours, a tribute to Sakamoto; and the concept album and video project SEASCAPE—Il senso del mare, produced by GMN Racconto di Suoni. His collaborations include Da Vinci Publishing, Associazione Mozart Italia, Fazioli, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, the Man Ray cultural centre, European Jazz Expo and Rotary International.